The Lahore High Court has declared that the concession of bail can be withheld from an accused involved in inciting his accomplices at a crime scene due to some deep-rooted interest in the offence.
Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz rejected the bail petition of an accused whose alleged role was of shouting a threat or ‘lalkara’ as a result of which two people lost their lives during an attack.
“If it arises from the record that the accused shouting ‘lalkara’ had some deep-rooted interest in crime and was in a position to influence his co-accused so as to control his aggression, the concession of post-arrest bail can be withheld from him,” the judge declared in the verdict.
“It will also not be out of place to mention here that shouting of lalkara by a person in commanding and overwhelming position is a sufficient overt act towards the commission of crime,” the verdict added. The expression lalkara stands for utterance of words by an overzealous accused at a crime scene, inciting others to commit an offence.
The judge observed that for a just decision regarding post-arrest bail in such cases, the court has to tentatively see the background in which a perpetrator shouts, his interest in the crime and the influence he can exert upon co-assailants.
The court observed that despite being in a position of influence, the petitioner made no effort to calm down the situation. He rather ignited it through zealous shouting, culminating in the death of two brothers, it added, while rejecting the bail petition.
The petitioner, Sher Afzal, had sought bail in a case registered on May 20 at Kahuta police station under sections 302 and 34 of PPC.
According to the FIR, the complainant Seemab Wasif went to the house of her brother-in-law Asim Khan in Mauza Sung along with her husband Wasif Khan Abbasi, Zubair Ahmed Qureshi and Tahira Abbasi. She stated that they intended to construct a house on their land but when they reached the spot for the purpose, Shahid, Sher Afzal, Muhammad Shafique, all armed with pistols, arrived along with Zeenat Bibi. The complainant said Sher Afzal exhorted his co-accused to teach a lesson to them for constructing house on the land, after which Shahid fired five pistol shots at Wasif and Shafique fired seven shots hitting Asim. The complainant alleged that when the victims fell onto the ground after suffering bullet wounds, they were kicked by Sher Afzal and Zeenat Bibi. Upon hue and cry raised by witnesses, all the assailants escaped from the scene. Wasif and Asim died while being taken to hospitals.
The counsel for the petitioner argued that he was innocent and both the deceased had died due to firearm injuries inflicted by co-accused. The lawyer contended that the proverbial lalkara was not a major overt act.
A law officer assisted by the counsel for the complainant opposed the grant of post-arrest bail to the petitioner on the grounds that he was nominated in the crime report and the co-accused who inflicted the fatal injuries were his son and brother-in-law, thus his call to them was akin to a command.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2020.
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